Pitt School of Medicine study examines veterans' sleep

Matthew Spady could not sleep when he returned to his home in Harmony after spending almost a year in Iraq.

"I wasn't sleeping much, and it was keeping my wife, Sharon, up," said Spady, 31, who served with the 352nd Civil Affairs Command out of Fort Meade, Md.

Sleeplessness among veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is the focus of research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The goal is to study the role sleep plays in military couples' relationships and their risk of developing cardiovascular disease because they don't get enough sleep.

"Sleep disturbances are among the most common complaints in the post-deployment period," said Wendy M. Troxel, Ph.D., principal investigator and an assistant professor of psychiatry and psychology at Pitt's School of Medicine. "Sleep affects all aspects of our functioning — work, home life."

The $1 million four-year study was funded last August by the National Institutes of Health, Troxel said. Ten couples are enrolled, but the study plans eventually to include 80 couples.

While a great deal of attention has been paid to veterans' post-deployment difficulties, relatively little research has examined the impact on their spouses and families, Troxel said. Sleeping presents a difficult challenge, she said.

"There is no sleep switch. If you've learned to sleep in conditions not compatible to good sleep, it's hard to unlearn that," Troxel said.

Behavioral health issues are a common concern among returning troops, said Sgt. Matt Jones, a Pennsylvania National Guard public affairs officer in Fort Indiantown Gap.

"It can be difficult to adjust," said Jones, who served in Iraq in 2009 and sought help for what he called anxiety issues that affected his sleep and the sleep of his wife.

Spady, who participated in the study, said he is "pretty much back to normal."

"The main thing is the effort being put forth to help returning warriors," Spady said. "From Vietnam to today, there's been a great effort to help veterans and their families."

To learn more

For details or to register for the University of Pittsburgh's sleep study for military couples, call 412-246-5783 or visit www.veteranssleep.pitt.edu .